Switch



Nov. 10,1925

0. 5. JENNINGS SWITCH Filed Sept. 8, l

INVENTOR 0111 61" 5. Jammy;

ToNEY WITNESSESF patented Nov. lid, 1925..

UNITED "STATES OLIVER S. JENNINGS, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNQR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELEC- TRIO 8:, MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATIQN 0F PENNSYLVAINEA.

swrrcn.

Application filed September 8, 1920. Serial No. 408,881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Oiavna S. JENNINGS, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement in' Switches, of which the following isa specification.-

My invention relates to switches and par ticularly to enclosed cut-out switches of the safety type wherein the switch elements are enclosed within a housingand ,wherein they are not accessible so long as they are connected to live terminals. I

One object of theinvention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and reliable switch mechanism wherein a porcelain base or block carries a fuse and a switch member connected therewith, which is adapted to engage the terminal contact when the block is moved to closed position. I

Another object is to provide a switch mechanism having the above characteristicswherein the fuse and switch base is adapted to close the opening in the cover, when in closed position, and thereby prevent access to the terminal contact through the said opening. g

Another object is to provide a switch mechanismwherein a shield serves to prevent access to the fuse while the block and switch are in closed position and wherein the fuse is accessible through an opening in the shield only when the block and switch are in open position.

A further ob'ject is to provide a switch mechanism 'wherein the opening in the shield protecting the fuse block isclosedwhen' the block and switch are in closed position. 7

A further object is to provide a switch mechanism wherein the switch and'fuseiare mounted upon the same movable base or block and wherein the fuse may be removed only by movement in a predetermined direction and wherein the shield for the fuse serves to prevent removal of the fuse so long as the block is in closed position.

Briefly, the invention consists of a switch mechanism having a housing in which terminal contacts are mounted directly opposite an opening in a detachable cover. A fusebase is pivoted to one edge of the opening and carries on its inner side a switch member. adapted to engage the contacts when the base s in closed position min a position wherein it serves to close the opening-in the housing. The base or block is provided, on its outer side, with a fusereceptacle adapted to receive a screw-plug fuse and connect it with a switch member. The base is so pivoted that it may be swung clear of the opening to a position substantially normal to the plane thereof, wherein the switch member is disengaged from the terminal contact and. the line through the fuse is dead.

The detachable cover for the housing is provided with an arcuate'shield forming a passage through which the block turns.

The shield is provided with an opening disposed substantially normal. to the plane of the opening in the cover through which the fuse is accessible when the block is in open position. A cover, movable'with the block, serves to close the opening in the shield when the block andswitch members are in closed position. Access to the fuse cannot be had, therefore, while the switch is closed, and the fuse is dead when brought to a position wherein it is accessible.

The manner of connecting'the term nals of this type of switch does not affect the safety of the switch for the reason that the fuse is dead when the switch is open.

The above objects and others that will hereinafter. appear are attained by a switch construction embodying thefeatures herein described and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, wherein Figure l is a plan view of the switch apparatus, one half of the shield being cut away. 1

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the apparatus taken on the line HH of Fig. 1, showing the switch and fuse block in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a section similar to that of Fig. 2, showing the switch and fuse block in open position.

' Referringft o the drawings, the apparatus includes a housing 4: having a detachable cover '5 which is provided with an opening 6 through which the switch mechanism is adapted to 'move into engagement with the terminal contacts. As shown, the terminals comprise two sets of contact-jaw members 7 which are connected to binding posts 8, preferably mounted upon a suitable porcelainbase 9. The jaw members :7 are of ion liltl the usual split type and are designed to receive the switch-blade members which project inwardly from the porcelain base or block 11 upon which they are secured.

The .longitudinally-aligned switch-blade members 10 are connected by meansof av -fus1e12 of the, screW-plugtype wlnchrs sthe plug is dead, and the operator, theretom, cannot be injured during the removals of the plug, so long as the switch is open at the time the plug 1s removed.

'It is an. object of this invention to prevent access to the fuses while the switch is in closed position and to mount the fuses that they are moved to an accessibleposltion Ior removal when theSWliJCll'lS moved to open position. With thislenrl in view, the switch block is supported upon a rotatable metal plate 143 havingtwo angularly disposed sections 15' and 16, the former serving as a bracket for the block 11 and the latter constituting a closure member for the shield 17 to he hereinafter described.

Direct access to; the block and the fuses is prevented by means of the shield 17 which extends over' the opening'fi and includes a pair of side walls 18 joined by a curved plate 19. This shield or hood encloses three sides of the opening 6-, while the closure section 16 of theplate 14: serves as a barrier to prevent; access to the. block virorn the fourth side of theuopening. The shield constitutes, in effect, a housing for the block 11 having an opening '20" through which the fuses may be removed when the block is moved to open position, as indicated in Fig,

3. The plate 14 is provided with a cylindrical section 21 which is journaled in. a concave socket 22 formed adjacent to one edge of the opening 6 and may be rotated within the shield 17 into open and closed positions, as indicated, respectively, in Figs. 3 and 2. v

An operating handle "23 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 24: which extends I through the walls 18 and is co-axial with the axis of the cylindrical section 21 of the plate 14. The handle is provided with two arms 25 which extend over opposite sides of the shield and are secured to the ends of the shaft 24. The closure section 16 is secured to the handle by means of a shaft 26 which connects the arms of the handle and is adapted to be moved into open and closed positions by means thereof. Slots 27 are provided in the walls'18' to permit the handle to ITXOYQ to closed position. This slot serves to limit the-inward movement of the block.

The block 11 is fastened within a recess menses cut in the bracket section, and, when the block is in closed position, as indicatedin Fig. 2, I the closure section lies Within the shield andpreventsaccess to the block or fuse." When the block is in open position, as indicated in Fig.( 3, the switch-blade members are disengaged fromjthe contact members, and the fusesare accessible for the reason that the closure'section 16 has been moved out of the shield a sufficient distance to permit the fuses to be removed.

The anrangement of the block and shield is such that the fuses, which are designed to be removed only by movement in adirection normal to the plane of the'axis of the block, could not be removed without in: terierence with the curved section of the shield. Under certain conditions, the closure member 16 could be dispensed with and the curved section of the shield be depended upon for preventing removal of the fuses without first having moved the block to open position.

The closure member is provided with a stop member28 which is adaptedto engage the cover 5 and limit the outward movement of the hloclt. I I

The plate 19 is provided with a perforation 29 with which a similar perforation 30 in the closure section 16 registers when the switch is in an open position intermediate extreme'open and closed positions. A seal (not shown) may be placed through the" perforations for'thepurpose of sealing the switch in an open. position wherein access to the fuse is prevented by the closure 16.

It will be seen from theflfore'goingthat the current is cut ofi from the fusewhen the switch. is open and that access to the fuse is precluded so longas the switch is in closed position. f j

While I have described and illustrated but one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, additions and omissions may be made in the apparatus described without departing from the'spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A switch mechanism comprising a housing having an opening" therein, a terminal contact member within the housing, a switch block pivotally attached to the housing and movable to open and to closed positions, a switch member carried bythe block to engage the terminal contact member when the block is in closed. position and to be disengaged,

accessible, 9. cover movable with the block-to close the opening in the shield when the block is in closed position and to be moved to open position to expose the block When thelatter is moved to openposition and an operating handle pivoted for rotation about the, axis of rotation of the switch block and straddling the exterior of the shield andattached to the said cover at'a point remote from the said axis.

i .In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this twenty-seventh day I 

